Operations, Finance, and Administration Lead
iCivics (Equitable Hiring Group)
Job Description
Who We Are - iCivics
iCivics is a fast-growing civic education nonprofit located in Cambridge, MA. Founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics re-imagines civic education for American democracy. We champion equitable and non-partisan civic education, while providing engaging resources that empower educators in the critical task of preparing young people for lifelong civic engagement.
iCivics is a fast-growing civic education nonprofit located in Cambridge, MA. Founded by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, iCivics re-imagines civic education for American democracy. We champion equitable and non-partisan civic education, while providing engaging resources that empower educators in the critical task of preparing young people for lifelong civic engagement.
With iCivics, over 10 million students learn about our government, the rule of law, and civic issues. We make civic education relevant to new generations of Americans through online games and innovative classroom resources – for free. Our reach is substantial: 156,000 teachers across all 50 states are registered with iCivics. Furthermore, our games have been played by students a staggering 64 million times! Our growth continues: last year, teacher accounts and active users grew at over 30%.
In our effort to champion civic education, iCivics is leading a project called CivXNow comprising national coalition-building, research, policy, and advocacy work. To date, over 185 organizations have joined the CivXNow Coalition, 18 of which are state-level affiliated civic learning coalitions. The Coalition pledges to help every school in the nation fulfill its historic and vital civic mission, and to ensure that every young person acquires the civic knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for informed and authentic civic participation.
About the Role – Operations, Finance, and Administration Lead
The Operations Lead is a new iCivics position designed as a partner to the COO/CFO in managing iCivics rapid growth. The Lead will manage a range of ongoing responsibilities and a series of special projects to maintain iCivics strong culture, ensure effective business functions and operations, improve processes and procedures, maintain compliance with business and personnel requirements, and ensure overall operational effectiveness. The work of this role crosses HR, organizational development, legal, operations, and finance functions.
The Operations Lead is a new iCivics position designed as a partner to the COO/CFO in managing iCivics rapid growth. The Lead will manage a range of ongoing responsibilities and a series of special projects to maintain iCivics strong culture, ensure effective business functions and operations, improve processes and procedures, maintain compliance with business and personnel requirements, and ensure overall operational effectiveness. The work of this role crosses HR, organizational development, legal, operations, and finance functions.
The Lead will serve as a critical thought partner and connector across the whole team and will be centrally positioned to learn about and influence all aspects of an innovative nonprofit. We seek a professional who can manage projects that address the design and implementation of the organizational culture, tools and systems to ensure an impeccable foundation and propel our capacity to achieve big things.
In addition to the COO/CFO, this role partners with our external financial contractor and benefits broker to achieve finance, operations, admin, and HR/talent goals. Several backgrounds could serve you well in this role, including previous experience leading operations and overseeing its various associated functions (finance, HR, operations, etc.).
This individual will report to Sue Meehan, Chief Operating & Financial Officer at iCivics.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Support the COO/CFO in a range of special initiatives related to organizational growth.
- Strategic Planning & Organizational Development: Assist with designing and implementing a range of planning processes and meetings to ensure strong implementation of iCivics strategic plan. Dive into the nitty-gritty of organizational management by overseeing research on best practices and making recommendations on new policies.
- Financial Management: Support the COO/CFO in designing and driving the annual budget process involving all departments. Work in coordination with the external accountant to ensure the organizational finance functions involving a number of team members run smoothly (AP, AR, time tracking, budget tracking, reimbursements). Oversee specific areas as necessary.
- Human Resources: Ensure employee recruiting and onboarding procedures are well designed and well-executed. Work with the COO/CFO and probono attorneys to ensure that our HR policies and procedures stay up-to-date and are effectively communicated to the team. Regularly evaluate staff engagement, office morale, staff communications and work to ensure balanced and healthy office culture; establish a protocol for HR concerns to be aired and addressed. Oversee iCivics Intern Program.
- Operations: Work with COO/CFO to ensure strong integration across all areas of the company. Evaluate the efficiency of current business procedures according to organizational objectives and develop and apply improvements. Work with the COO/CFO and probono attorneys on legal projects, as needed.
Skills & Competencies
- Ability to get things done: You are solutions-oriented, a problem-solver looking for the best solution to whatever challenge you're confronted with. You don't wait for instruction. Instead, you proactively look for ways to offer support and be of use. You are a master organizer and planner and consistently look ahead and anticipate needs before they arise.
- Resourceful and Adaptable: You're at ease with ambiguity and rapid change. You possess a positive attitude and identify creative solutions to obstacles. You can juggle many essential responsibilities at once, and you're rigorous about prioritizing.
- A Team Player: You can work on any project with any team. Not because you know everything, because you love working on teams, and you are the one who always puts it on themselves to see their team succeed. You're not afraid to ask questions.
- Flexible: You can manage a diverse set of team needs and aren't afraid to step outside your job description or comfort zone to help the team reach its goals. You're comfortable with shifting schedules and don't expect every day to go "as planned."
- High Integrity: You will be asked to make sensitive and critical judgment calls, and as such, you are known for your integrity; you take that reputation seriously. You always choose to make the right decision versus the easy decision. You know what information is sensitive, and you will protect it accordingly.
- Emotionally Intelligent: You are self-aware and perceptive. You nurture relationships and can work and communicate well with all kinds of people. You are optimistic, empathetic, flexible, curious, and well-respected by all who work with you, irrespective of title. You are able to handle stressful situations professionally.
What You'll Need
- 5+ years of professional experience (we are background agnostic and are excited by candidates with unique and different work histories).
- Project management experience with the ability to juggle multiple priorities simultaneously.
- Demonstrated comfort and fluency with Excel and numbers generally. Enjoying these will be vital to enjoying this position.
- The ability to handle multiple deadlines and complete assignments with minimal supervision in a fast-paced workplace.
- Impeccable organization, you are highly detail-oriented, and someone who gets a real sense of satisfaction from producing polished work and managing smooth and orderly processes.
- You can practice discretion and have the ability to maintain confidentiality as needed.
- A commitment to diversity and inclusion. You're always asking: "whose voice is not at the table?" You have experience working with diverse teams and successfully navigating cross-cultural communication in either local or global contexts, and you deeply value creating a workplace that is supportive of difference.
Compensation and Location
iCivics provides a comprehensive benefits package, including generous health insurance for individuals and competitive rates for families/dependents, generous time off, IRA match, family leave, and a collegial environment that supports professional development and wellness.
Compensation for this role starts at $80K and can increase based on the candidate’s level of experience.
You must be already based in, or be willing to relocate to, the Boston region. The expectation is this role will be in the office at least one day a week. Since we are living through a global pandemic, we can be flexible on relocation timelines and are able to offer a small amount of relocation assistance.
The Application Process
iCivics has engaged Equitable Hiring Group to support this hiring process. To apply, please complete the short form to the right.
iCivics has engaged Equitable Hiring Group to support this hiring process. To apply, please complete the short form to the right.
Individuals who apply by Friday, May 27th, will be given priority; therefore, we encourage you to submit yours soon!
When you apply, please remove the names of your undergraduate and graduate schools from your resume. There is no need to reformat your resume, but simplify it to “B.A. Economics,” for example. This “bias-free” process is aimed at opening this opportunity to more candidates, reviewing applicants on performance assessments instead of resume proxies (e.g., where you went to school).
This evaluation process will follow best practices shown to reduce bias in decision making and may be different from other application processes you have experienced.
If you have any questions about the opportunity, please feel free to email abe@equitablehiringgroup.com.